Tatihou is an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 of Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 with an area of 290,000 square metres. It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula just off the coast near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue

Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue

Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is situated in the Manche département, in the Basse-Normandie région. It is in the Quettehou canton, of the Cherbourg arrondissement. The town had a population of 2,097...

. It is almost uninhabited, and is usually reached by amphibious boat although, being a tidal island

Tidal island

A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont Saint Michel with its...

, it is also possible at low tide to walk there over the local oyster

Oyster

The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

 beds. Access to the island is limited to 500 visitors per day.

History

Tatihou, like many of the islets of the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

 contains the -hou

-hou

-hou is a suffix found commonly in Channel Islands and Norman names. It is the Norman language version of the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small island, and often found anglicised elsewhere as "holm". It can still be found in modern Scandinavian languages, e.g...

suffix.

In 1692 the naval Battle of La Hougue took place between the English and the French close to the island of Tatihou. In 1756 the surroundings of La Hougue were defended by many batteries and forts, but the lack of regular maintenance ensured that these quickly fell into disrepair. In 1720 Tatihou was used for quarantining

Quarantine

Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 plague victims from Marseilles.

On 10 December 1803, the 36-gun frigate HMS Shannon

HMS Shannon (1803)

The third HMS Shannon was a 36-gun frigate of the British Royal Navy built at Frindsbury on the River Medway on the Thames Estuary. She was completed on 3 September 1803 during the Napoleonic Wars...

 grounded on Tatihou. All her crew survived to be captured by troops from a battery. The next day a party from HMS Merlin burned Shannon to prevent her arms and stores falling into French hands.

Culture

Tatihou has hosted a small folk festival since 1995, Les Traversées de Tatihou, every August 15. The hours are selected according to the tides to allow the festival goers home. The island also hosts music courses several times a year.

Flora and fauna

An ornithological reserve was founded in 1990 with an area of 30,000 square metres. The island is a stopping place for many migrating birds, including the Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world, which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic...

, Common Shelduck

Common Shelduck

The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...

, Little Egret

Little Egret

The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....

, Eider

Eider

Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....

, Wigeon

Wigeon

The Eurasian Wigeon, also known as Widgeon or Eurasian Widgeon is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. It is common and widespread within its range...

, Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

The Yellow-legged Gull , sometimes referred to as Western Yellow-legged Gull , is a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species...

. There is also a botanical garden on the island.

External links

• Island of Tatihou — tourism site
• Tatihou music festival — FolkWorld article
• Tatihou.com — official website, in French
• Conservatoire du Littoral — conservation website, in French